It is not in our gift to create: We can discover!

A dear friend Chana posted a blog recently about art and creativity in relation to her spiritual journey. Chana is not only a great artist but more importantly a great human being and well advanced on her spiritual journey. This blog is a continutaion of my response to her blog. Chana always gives me food for thought and I will be always indebted to her for this.

What drives art and creativity? To answer this I will start by asking some more questions:

1. Is art in reference to the artist, the person 'experiencing' it or both?

2. Is art about creating something or experiencing it or both?

3. What is the ultimate driver for art, for creating something? Is it EGO?

Let us look at these one by one.

1. Art is defined by the artist as well as by any other person experiencing it. However, it is important to highlight that the experience of the artist will hardly ever be duplicated by someone else. So even for the same object of art the 'artistic experience' of the artist and others may be miles apart.

2. I personally don't think that we can create anything. We can discover it and experience it. This discovery and experience is what art is about.

It is not about the final object, be it a painting, a sculpture or a design. It is about the process and the experience and the discovery. This process, experience and discovery is different for the artist and each individual person who experiences the 'art'. It is very 'personal'.

3. The 'creation' of art involves a process (means) and an end (the object). We initially 'create' for the end i.e. an object which we can stamp with our name. However, in the process of 'creating' we 'experience' and 'discover'

This experience and discovery gives us a 'taste' of divinity. We get a feel of divinity, of our oneness with 'creation'. It is this 'experience' that then drives our creativity. It is no longer about EGO, about us but about the experience, about the journey. This is a critical jump and not all 'artists' make it.